Your support is needed for the Puerto Rico Land and Water Conservation Act of 2000, which was introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2000. This bill will provide protection for PR karst resources, particularly in the endangered Northwest area that includes Rio Encantado and Rio Camuy.
The best way to see how it will do this is to read the bill. Or you can download a Word copy or a PDF file (requires Adobe Acrobat).
A sample letter to the Chair of the House Resources Committee is provided for you to use as a base for your letter. Download a Word copy. Please modify it appropriately based on your experience and knowledge of the PR Karst Resources. A snail-mail version of this letter will be more effective if you can do it. Send it to the addresses listed below: If you can only do one letter send it to Representative Young.
The Honorable Don
Young, Chairman
House Resources Committee
U.S.
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Jim Hansen, Chairman
Subcommittee on National Parks and Lands
U.S.
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable George
Miller
Ranking Member
House Resources Committee
U.S.
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
If you have influence on your own national representative, encouraging them to support the bill will also help. Thus a copy of your letter to Congressman Young sent to your own representative would be helpful. And a copy, or e-mail copy to the NSS Conservation committee would also be useful to gauge the response we are getting.
There is more information on the Web about this issue. For example, here is a letter requesting your (our) help in supporting the bill.
Ciudadanos Del Karso (Citizens of the Karst) Home Page
The karst area in the Northwest of PR that will be protected by this bill was listed by the Karst Waters Institute as one of the ten most endangered karst systems in 1999.
View a map of PR at Maptown.